Video: Renovation gives antique ship a high-tech overhaul

Thursday

Jun 26, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 26, 2008 at 1:24 AM

On Tuesday, the 1963 vintage houseboat slipped out of the mooring at J&J Marine, a yacht refitter in Somerset, and made its way over to Battleship Cove, the first leg of a journey that will end at a boat show in Mystic, Conn., where the 63-foot boat will be used to display a wide variety of the newest marine technology.

Marc Munroe Dion

Hail and rain and a couple stiff breezes didn’t keep Showtime in port.

On Tuesday, the 1963 vintage houseboat slipped out of the mooring at J&J Marine, a yacht refitter in Somerset, and made its way over to Battleship Cove, the first leg of a journey that will end at a boat show in Mystic, Conn., where the 63-foot boat will be used to display a wide variety of the newest marine technology.

Owner and skipper Jock West said Showtime, built for a family in New York, is a luxury boat and was launched in 1969 as the Sinbad.

“It stayed in the same family and, when the father passed away, his daughter donated it to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, New York, West said.

West, who worked for various yachting publications in his work life, was looking for a boat just about the time the museum decided to sell.

“They put the boat on the market. I had friends looking for a boat for me,” he said.
West said the price was right and the boat was a classic.

He’s owned the boat since May and brought it almost immediately to J&J Marine for some restoration.

“I could not have done all this work in 37 days without J&J Marine,” West said.

The boat is in original equipment but has new paint, state-of-the-art electronics and navigating gear, new paint, new sanitation systems, a new sound system and a lot more.

That’s the purpose of Showtime and the reason for the boat’s name.

West plans to take the Showtime to boat shows up and down the East Coast. Corporate sponsors will have their products installed in and showcased on the boat.

“We are primarily interested in showcasing what our sponsors make in a classic boat,” West said.

“We have a ships’ computer that runs the whole ship,” West said.

“These kinds of boats, usually people never get to go on,” West said.

The tour will give customers an opportunity to see marine products used in a luxurious setting.

Of course, gasoline is one thing used on a luxury boat, but West said that in these fuel-conscious days, Showtime is a bit of a bargain.

“You can run all day at 10 mph and use 30 gallons of gas,” he said, adding that’s considered remarkable.